1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tents, and more particularly to a tent with an upper section having an air-permeable inner layer spaced apart from a protective outer layer for providing the tent with constant ventilation while protecting the interior of the tent from outdoor elements.
2. Description of Prior Art
Camping is a popular, cost-effective recreational activity for those who seek to experience the outdoors and tents provide temporary shelter to those campers and wilderness explorers. These tents are sold in different sizes and designs, and at varying prices. Despite the variety of tents available today, there are several common complaints by campers.
One common complaint is that tents in general lack sufficient ventilation. Tents tend to become hot when exposed to the sun during the day and also tend to trap moist air at night. Moreover, because a tent is a closed structure, often the air within the tent becomes stale and sometimes the air quality within the tent can become undesirable due to body odor or the like. Consequently, the camper's comfort and enjoyment often depends on the quality of ventilation employed in the tent structure.
Even though tents are commonly equipped with screen windows or doors on one or more sides of the tent, it is still difficult to achieve sufficient ventilation. Moreover, when adverse weather conditions are present such as rain, sleet or snow, or when the camper is concerned with safety or privacy, the windows and doors must be closed and thus the interior of the tent cannot ventilate.
Tent designers and manufacturers have taken different approaches in an effort to provide tents with ventilation without compromising protection of the tent from adverse weather conditions. One approach is to provide the tent with a small cut-out covered with a mesh material and small awnings to protect the cut-outs. These tents are not provided with a separate rain fly and as a result the cut-outs in the tent must be small to minimize the possibility of any precipitation from entering the tent. This type of design, however, limits the amount of air flow and thus prevents the tent from ventilating sufficiently. Moreover, because the tent does not include a protective cover or rain fly, the tent is subject to wear and tear, and is also prone to hot conditions from direct exposure to the sun. Also, precipitation accumulated on the top section of the tent tends to flow down the mid portions of the wall outer surfaces often causing water to leak through windows and doors on the walls as well as the seams surrounding the windows and doors.
Thus, while it is desirable to have a well ventilated tent, it is also necessary that the tent be protected from adverse weather conditions and from overexposure to the sun. This is often achieved by providing a cover or rain fly on an outer surface of the tent.
So, another approach seen in the prior art is to provide a mesh section within the tent and a rain fly extending over the tent, often superposed. In theory, the air should flow out of the tent through the mesh section, into the area between the rain fly and the tent, and then out from under the rain fly. However, because the rain fly extends almost to the ground, the air and condensation may still accumulate underneath the rain fly and proper ventilation may not be supplied. Moreover, because the space between the rain fly and tent is minimal it is often difficult to achieve proper air circulation.
Another problem with the ventilated tents in the prior art is that the cover or rain fly is not integrated with the tent and, thus, the user is required to separately attach and detach the cover or rain fly to and from the tent. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a tent with an integrated ventilation system that is unitary, free-standing and collapsible making it extremely easy to put up, take down and transport.